Lefty Specialist wrote: He's my hero simply for going after the Phillie Phanatic with murderous intent. This and the Dave Kingman rant are the stand out memories. Also made Mike Piazza's career possible. Without Lasorda's influence, there'd be no major leaguer named Mike Piazza who was inducted into the HOF. I was actually thinking about Lasorda's advanced age a month ago. Ghoulish me. But I have a thing for keeping track of the surviving 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers, now down to three -- Sandy Koufax, Carl Erskine and original Met Roger Craig. Craig, Koufax and Lasorda were all rookies in 1955. Thank him for Sid Fernandez, too. Tommy didn't like the large cut of his jib and made him very available to us.